Tragic drowning of Dublin father and son on Easter Sunday

Bodies were discovered in a stream beside the Royal Canal in Dublin on Easter Sunday afternoon.Wikimedia

The bodies of a father and his young son were discovered in a stream beside the Royal Canal in Dublin on Easter Sunday afternoon, the same day 1,000 supporters accompanied Louise James as she visited the scene in Donegal where she lost five members of her family a week earlier.

Gardai said that a post mortem examination had shown that in the Royal Canal tragedy the man, named as Sean “Curly” Sweeney, 36, and his three-year-old son Tyler Joyce fell into the water on Saturday night. Gardai are treating the deaths as a tragedy.

The pair fell into the water accidentally as they took a shortcut home across a rail-line at Ashtown, Co. Dublin.

Their bodies were discovered by a passer-by on Sunday afternoon, and the emergency services were alerted.

Local Labour Councilor Brendan Carr said the community was “devastated.”

“Naturally, our hearts go out to the families involved in this incident. It is the second tragedy involving a child to occur in this body of water in recent years,” Carr said.

“It must now be a necessity to implement safety procedures and standards in this area.”

In Buncrana, Co. Donegal, Louise James and remaining members of her family, including her four-month-old daughter Rionaghach-Ann, joined 1,000 people in prayers at the site where she lost five members of her family a week earlier.

Her partner Sean McGrotty, their two sons aged 12 and eight, her mother and her 14-year-old sister died when their car plunged into the water while it was negotiating a maneuver on a wet algae-strewn Buncrana pier.

Four-months-old Rionaghach-Ann was rescued when her father passed her out of the car window to brave local soccer star Davitt Walsh who dived into the water before the car sank with the other five till inside.

James, in England at the time of the accident, returned to the scene on Sunday from her home in Derry with Rionaghach-Ann. Five baskets of flowers were set afloat on the sea in memory of the loved ones she lost.

She told the crowd, “There’s no words can describe how I am feeling at the moment. I just want to say a big, massive thank you to everybody for your words of support, kindness, generosity, everything.”

Bodies were discovered in a stream beside the Royal Canal in Dublin on Easter Sunday afternoon.Wikimedia